Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Monday, 11 May 2009

BBC News

• Open meeting for transport plansMembers of the public have been invited to a meeting with Greater Manchester public transport leaders to discuss how services can be improved.
• Milan train segregation idea rowA proposal to segregate trains on Milan's underground system has ignited the campaign for next month's European parliamentary elections in the city. The idea came from Matteo Salvini, an MP from the regionalist and frequently anti-foreigner Northern League.
• Speed limit device tested on busA device which automatically stops acceleration when a vehicle exceeds the speed limit goes on test in London.
• Berlin rules out saving Opel jobsGermany's economy minister says his government couldn't afford to save every threatened job at carmaker Opel.

Financial Times

• Network Rail on track to miss targetThe company that owns Britain's rail network has missed its target to cut costs over the past five years, according to preliminary estimates, fuelling calls for rail bosses to forgo their six-figure bonuses.

The Guardian

• Airports policy 'in tatters' as Stansted runway plans delayed againThe government's airport expansion policy is in tatters, campaigners said today after it emerged that a planning decision on a second runway at Stansted is unlikely to be taken before the general election.
• Passengers pay the cost of rail failure [letter]National Express may have to give up its east coast franchise because it can't afford the escalating fees paid to the government for the right to run the service from London to Edinburgh, but these fee levels were set in very different economic times (Report, 7 May).

The Scotsman

• Tram chief's future in doubtTHE frontman for Edinburgh's troubled tram scheme is facing the axe amid claims he has lost control of the project, The Scotsman can reveal.

The Telegraph

• Passengers face delays as engineering work put on holdPassengers face the threat of further delays and disruption because of a decision by Network Rail to postpone nearly 30 per cent of its engineering programme.
• Accidents caused by foreign lorries increase by 10 per cent Accidents caused by foreign lorries on British roads have increased by 10 per cent in the past year new figures show.
• Electric cars to sound like noisy sports cars to protect the blind and cyclists Electric cars will be made to sound like noisy sports cars after concerns were raised that silent vehicles posed a danger to blind people and cyclists.
• Speed camera catches 23500 drivers in two weeks A speed camera caught 23500 drivers in just two weeks when a detector was installed on a quiet country road.

Times Online

• Heathrow runway supporters hit back at ’small group of sceptics’PLANS to expand Heathrow airport, Britain’s biggest, have provoked a fierce debate among business leaders about the country's targets for cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions.
• Taxis and buses face automatic speed limitingThousands of taxis, buses and council vehicles could be fitted with devices that prevent them from exceeding the speed limit.

Mail Online

• The car computer that makes speeding history

Transport Briefing

• Transport funding system streamlined by MayorTransport for London and the capital's 33 local authorities have agreed a new system to simplify funding for transport.
• Laing O'Rourke picked for Crossrail Dogs stationBritain's largest privately-owned construction company has been selected as preferred bidder to build Isle of Dogs Crossrail station.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Idea of trams on Forth Road Bridge probedA STUDY has been set up to explore the possibility of running trams on the Forth Road Bridge.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Campaign for footpath on busy stretch of A96 makes progressA grandfather who is campaigning to build a footpath on a busy stretch of road where a pedestrian was killed has revealed his cause has moved forward after the Scottish Government agreed to look into the cost of the project.

Peterborough Telegraph

• 'Short' car park machine will stayAn unusually short car park ticket machine in Norfolk may stay after it became an unlikely tourist attraction.

Washington Post

• Reborn Fiat shakes up Italian stereotype MILAN -- In a perfect world, so the joke goes, the Germans are the mechanics, the Swiss are the timekeepers and the Italians are the lovers.
• Scooters, motorcycle makers get stimulus shot LOS ANGELES -- Sales of motorcycles and scooters shifted into high gear last year when gas prices soared. Then recession-wary consumers hit the brakes.
• Experts say GM bankruptcy almost inevitable DETROIT -- For General Motors Corp., the task at hand is so difficult that experts say a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is all but inevitable.

Other News Sources

• Taiwan can learn from British railway industry: vice ministerTaipei, May 11 (CNA) The advanced technology and vast experience of the British railway industry can serve as a model for Taiwan in upgrading its rail transportation, Chang Chiou-chien, vice minister of the transportation and communications said Monday.
• Train trip to take an epic 18 hoursRail travellers are being told a journey from Kettering to London will take 18 hours, involve seven changes, include five bus rides and even mean an overnight stay in Milton Keynes.
• First bus criticised for lack of actionLack of action by First Bus on investigating a more frequent direct service between the Norton Radstock area and Bristol is attracting increasing criticism from local councillors.
• Manchester's Metrolink tram stop at Old Trafford gets top marksOLD Trafford Metrolink stop has been given top marks for safety.
• Back to the 60s for Skeggy trainsA TRAIN service to Skegness which has not run since the Sixties is returning to Notts this summer.